Quinoa Paella with Chicken and Sausage Recipe

For those celebrating Passover, meal planning can be quite a drag. No bread, no pasta, and for many, no rice. So coming up with dinner ideas your family will love can be a challege at best.

They say quinoa is a super-food due to its unique high protein content. For me, it's a super-food because it's one of the few pallette-pleasing foods to look forward to on Passover. This recipe is really an incredible way to prepare quinoa over the holiday, or year-round. A play on a classic Spanish paella, it is really easy to make and takes minimal preparation time. With chicken and sausage it’s a meal in a bowl and the richly flavoured sauce will keep them coming back for more.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Spanish Smoked Paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups quinoa
1/2 cup sausage, sliced (merguez, if possible)
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, julienned
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

  Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a deep sauté pan heat the oil over High heat. Brown the chicken, using tongs to turn, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

  Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment. Stir in the paprika, garlic and red pepper flakes into the hot oil in the pot.

  Stir the broth into the pot, making sure to deglaze the pan. Blend in the tomato paste and bring to a boil over High heat. Stir in the quinoa and sausage. Cover and reduce heat to Medium. Cook for 12 minutes.

  Add salt to taste. Stir in chicken. Cover and cook over Low heat until quinoa is done  and the chicken should be cooked through. This should take 2-3 minutes. If the mix seems dry, add a bit more broth to the pan.

  Stir in the roasted peppers. Cover and let sit for 1 minute. Stir in parsley just before serving

Serves 4

Adapted from Lorna Sass